Fleetwood Town pulled off a stunning Carabao Cup upset on Tuesday night, beating Premier League side Arsenal 5–3 on penalties after a 1–1 draw to book their place in the quarter-finals.

The League Two outfit took a shock lead in the 21st minute when Aaron Loupalo-Bi finished a clever pass from Harrison Neal, leaving Mikel Arteta’s side trailing against opponents ranked 84 places below them in the football pyramid.

Arsenal responded after the break, with Viktor Gyökeres finding the equaliser in the 50th minute through a precise low finish. However, the Gunners struggled to convert their possession and chances into further goals as Fleetwood goalkeeper Jay Lynch kept the hosts in contention.

Arsenal’s hopes suffered another setback when teenage forward Max Dowman was sent off in the 85th minute following an incident involving Harrison Neal, leaving the visitors with 10 men for the closing stages.

Lynch produced crucial saves to deny Arsenal players, including Ben White and Martin Ødegaard, as Fleetwood held on to force a penalty shootout.

Fleetwood converted all five of their penalties through Ronan Coughlan, Harrison Neal, Will Davies, Andy Cannon and Conor Haughey, while Arsenal scored three of their attempts.

Lynch then saved Bruno Guimarães’ spot-kick to seal the hosts’ 5–3 shootout victory, sparking wild celebrations at Highbury Stadium.

Fleetwood players and supporters celebrated the landmark result, while manager Matt Lawlor was reduced to tears. The victory ended Arsenal’s Carabao Cup campaign and sent the League Two side into the quarter-finals.

Fleetwood will discover their quarter-final opponents after the draw, which is scheduled to take place following the conclusion of Wednesday’s match between Chelsea and Liverpool.